departments, felt it to be their duty, against my wishes, to criticise President Lincoln for "not moving more rapidly in suppressing the Rebellion." At one time, while General McClellan was the leader of our armies in Virginia, the editors, believing that the great body of the people demanded more activity, spoke out plainly, and perhaps too much so, about the "slow course of the President." Mr. Lincoln felt deeply grieved by these criticisms in the Independent and spoke about it to a mutual friend the Hon. Schuyler Colfax-supposing, as he did, that I was then the sole owner and editor of the paper. Mr. Colfax-then a leading Republican Congressman from the West-lost no time in writing me on the subject. My reply to him was that I did not control the editorial columns of the Independent except in the business departments, and requested him kindly to state that fact to the President. He did so immediately, but thought I had better let the President know this by a personal interview-if I could go to Washington — or, if not, by letter. I went immediately to Washington and called without delay at the White House. An immense crowd was there, and after waiting an hour or more, I came to the conclusion that there was no chance of seeing the President that morning. The city was then in the greatest excitement as was the whole country-about the news from the battle-fields; and I saw that the poor man had enough on his mind to crush him, without my adding a feather's weight to his troubles. I started to go to my hotel, when, in passing out of the reception room, I met the President face to face, on his way from his office downstairs to his luncheon. He grasped my hand and said: "Well, well! is this you? What can I do for you?" I commenced to tell my errand, when he

D

broke out in the most tender and touching words, saying: "Mr. Bowen, I now know your position; it is all right. I am sorry you troubled yourself to come here. Pray don't bother yourself a moment"; and with many kind words he pressed my hand, and we parted.

Never after that interview did the President have occasion to criticise the Independent for deviating from its uniform course in doing all in its power to sustain and encourage him in his efforts for the suppression of the Rebellion. Such measures, however, were soon adopted by him as led the people of the whole North, and particularly the newspapers, to see that President Lincoln meant to do his duty faithfully, that he was pushing the conflict as rapidly and wisely as it was safe to do.

NEW YORK CITY.

SOME REMINISCENCES

COLN.

OF ABRAHAM LIN

LINCOLN'S VISITS TO THE ARMY" THE SKEARED VIRGINIAN" A MAN TO BE REVERENCED.

BY MAJOR-GEN. OLIVER OTIS HOWARD, U. S. A. (RETIRED).

It was not my good fortune to have known Abraham Lincoln before I took my regiment, the Third Maine Volunteers, to Washington, and encamped it on Meridian Hill, near the Columbian College, the first week of June, 1861. The officers of the regiment, after our arrival, took great pains to have a good evening parade about sundown on every fair day; and so, as to Burnside's encampment of his Rhode Island Brigade, in another part of Washington, and Butterfield's Twelfth New York on Franklin Square, visitors from the city every evening came in carriages to witness the exercises. Sometimes Cabinet officers and members of Congress sat in their carriages and observed us while the parade went on. Mr. Lincoln himself came two or three times and looked on with evident interest; but before I had finished my part of receiving and conducting the exercise he had ridden. away, so that I did not then make his personal acquaint

ance.

A little later there was some consultation of army leaders by Cabinet officers in the presence of Mr. Lincoln at the White House, and I was among them. At that

time I must have been introduced to the President, but think only in a hurried way, as we came together into the middle room and immediately took seats. Several officers took part in the conversation. I remember only that Mr. Seward answered a proposition from me in such a way that it made me feel very small and very young. I now only recall the fact of a young man's mortification and his resolution thereafter to hearken diligently and say little.

The next occasion when I observed Mr. Lincoln was after I had been promoted to a brigadier-general (September, 1861); and while waiting orders at Washington, McClellan had a grand review, and I crossed the long bridge and went over beyond the Arlington Heights to view the handling of the troops on that occasion. I met some old army acquaintances with ladies, also looking on from a nice position. As I approached I was made to feel that my presence among these old-time friends was not welcome. These ladies and all about them were in sympathy with the Rebellion and laughed at me as a new-fledged brigadier on the Yankee side. Mr. Lincoln's curious appearance on horseback, with his long stirrups and his hat apparently on the back of his head, was the cause of all sorts of satirical and unkind remarks among my neighbors. As I already esteemed him highly I quickly left them. It was while returning to Washington after that parade that an officer complained to Mr. Lincoln of Gen. W. T. Sherman, who had threatened to shoot him for some misconduct, if he repeated the offence. Mr. Lincoln told the officer in a quiet whisper aside, that Sherman was a man of his word and might do it. Surely the officer must not again give him the occasion.

I think that I must have seen Mr. Lincoln at different

times when he came to the Army of the Potomac on the Peninsula, but no public reception now impresses me like that given him in the fall of 1862 at Harper's Ferry. We had passed through the not very decisive battle of Antietam. My division, the second of Sumner's corps, had cleared the field of wrecks and disabled animals, and buried the dead. It had then marched on and caught up with the main army, encamped about that historic pocket-what the French would properly call a cul de sac - Harper's Ferry. Mr. Lincoln had with him at this time quite a staff. An officer who rode by his side during the review of the troops, besides McClellan, was the already distinguished Western general, McClernand. He seemed then to have a grievance against Grant. From some remarks dropped I have always thought that at that time he had just been relieved from the command of his Thirteenth Corps, and wanted to be restored, or to have another equivalent, or better, assigned him. What struck me by the persistence of McClernand was the conviction that Mr. Lincoln must have continued worry, and be forced to exercise extraordinary patience under the ever-reiterated grievances of old friends and acquaint

ances.

As the generals and handsome staff officers escorted the President near to my front I joined the reviewing party. Mr. Lincoln rode along in silence, returning the salutes. As soon as the solemn review was over, he lightened up. Noticing Major Whittlesey of my staff receiving some order from me and riding off, some one said to Mr. Lincoln, as he noticed and spoke of Whittlesey's fine figure and splendid horsemanship, "that Major was before the War a minister!" Mr. Lincoln smiling, rejoined: "He looks more the cavalier than the clergy